This week’s round-up of news from the urban transport sector.
On October 7, the Victoria state government announced that limited services through Melbourne‘s 9 km Metro Tunnel cross-city corridor would start in early December, ahead of full opening with a network-wide timetable change in February. Services from the Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines will run through the tunnel, freeing up capacity on the City Loop for more services from other routes.
Abu Dhabi Transport Co unveiled plans for the city’s first tram project at the recent GlobalRail exhibition. Designated Line 4, the route would connecting Yas Island to Zayed International Airport. Proposals were also announced to deploy Urbanloop autonomous pods to provide last-mile connectivity.
NGE’s rail subsidiary TSO has been awarded the €65m Grand Paris Express Line 18 West linear railway systems contract. This includes the supply and installation of track, third rail power supplies, walkways, dry risers and cable routes along 9 km of double-track tunnel between Versailles, Guyancourt and Montigny-le-Bretonneux. The steel for the rails will be produced using electric arc furnaces rather than coal-fired blast furnaces.
Asian Development Bank has approved a US$299m loan as the fourth and final tranche of funding for the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System Investment Project, taking the total ADB financing under the facility approved in 2020 to US$1.05bn. ‘The project marks a transformative step in India’s urban transport landscape’, explained ADB Country Director for India Mio Oka on October 1. ’It not only enhances mobility but also promotes inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and is expected to serve as a model for future regional rapid transit systems across India and the Asia-Pacific region.’ ADB has also provided expertise in building information modelling, resilience and value capture financing.
On September 29, Budapest Transport authority BKK signed a contract with Hungarian engineering company Főmterv to design a 2·2 km tram connection between Deák Ferenc tér on routes 47 and 49 and Lehel tér on route 14. Budapest municipality is ‘pre-financing’ the planning works, but is ultimately expecting to obtain funding from the European Union.
Hitachi Rail has been awarded a 10-year contract to deliver ‘advanced digital solutions’ and provide long-term service support for Kuala Lumpur’s Ampang Line. This will include integrating different radio networks, providing data analytics and automatic train supervision enhancements to enable real-time monitoring and early detection of anomalies.
QNB Group acted as a Mandated Lead Arranger, Bookrunner and Underwriter and Green Loan Coordinator, to support MTR Corp in closing a HK$30bn syndicated green term loan facility, which it said marked the Hong Kong operator’s ‘highly anticipated’ return to the Asia syndicated loan market after nearly a decade. A total of 57 banks from 15 countries and territories participated in the financing package.
On October 12 Guangzhou became the fourth city in mainland China to support the use of American Express credit cards for tap-in tap-out payment for metro travel, after Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.